Fragile Simplicity
by Stormwolfex
Summary: AU/Set 3 years Post-Canon. Crowley has been defeated and life goes on. However, the main cast is about to find out that sometimes, the most dangerous element is the human nature itself . Experimental fic
1. Emotions

Fragile Simplicity

_**Author's Notes: Another work, you say? Yup, it's another plot bunny that I had to get out of my system. Surprise, it's reached an acceptable length where I can post it. This isn't a serious project, just merely a more… casual one, I guess? **_

_**Note, this story takes very broad strokes from canon and is considered to be set after the end of the series. Thus, it's AU. Because the To Aru series is FAR from over, I'll be doing lots of improvising for this fic when I update. Or IF I update. It depends if people want to see this continued. Characters will be somewhat different but they do retain their core personalities just that they'll be different because they are older. **_

_**Rating may change, though this fic has an extremely high chance of going 'M' simply because I have explicit scenes planned. Yes, it's Mikoto and Touma. Frankly though, I think I should be reaching the end of the number of fics I have for this pairing. Oh well.**_

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><p>"What the hell?" a thug was flung roughly against the wall as a certain spiky haired male backhanded him without even turning to face him, his leg sweeping across the floor to force another thug off balance as he followed up with a hammer-fist to the chest, stunning the thug as the male grabbed the female that they had been harassing and yanked her out of the alleyway without much preamble.<p>

"You know," the spiky haired male said wryly, "I'd really reconsider committing crimes in broad daylight, especially when you-know-who is in Judgment. Ah, well. It's probably my luck again to chance upon one when I'm almost late for the orientation camp," he nodded briefly as the thugs rolled around in pain while turning to face the damsel he had extricated with a sheepish look. "Are you ok?"

"Y-yeah…" the young girl, probably not more than 15, said shakily, "Th-thank you."

"Yeah, well. Be careful next time," the young man grinned as he gestured out at the open road, "it's less dangerous to take the long route sometimes." Glancing down at his watch, the male grimaced as he saw the time, "Ah, man… Such Misfortune. I'll be going now!" he took off, leaving the female student staring at his back with wide eyes. Just who was that guy who had just saved her without even thinking?

Skidding to the stop in front of the gate that read 'National University of Academy City' (NUAC), the male wiped a bead of sweat off his brow as he presented his identification to the guard. The female guard smiled at him as she took his card for scrutiny and the male smiled back nervously.

"Kamijou Touma?" the security guard asked, putting the card under the scanner to verify its authenticity.

"That's me," Kamijou Touma said, taking his identification card back as she handed it back to him and pointed him to the building where he would be attending his future lessons.

"That's the one," she said helpfully, pointing at a large building with a blue and white colour scheme to it, "Medical School in all its glory."

"Thanks," Touma called back as he began his sprint towards the school, his breath coming in frenzied pants as he rushed straight to the concourse that he had spied on the map next to the wall. "Woah!" a blur zipped past him and Touma's reflexes kicked in as he sidestepped, his hand reaching forward to grab the person by the arm before he or she could trip over his leg and hit the floor face-first.

"Ah!" a distinctly female voice greeted his ear and Touma stiffened at the familiar pitch and tone.

"Mikoto-chan?" he whispered, shocked to see his former girlfriend in the flesh as her hazel coloured eyes flickered upwards to stare at him in astonishment and horror. For a split second, Touma forgot everything else as they lost themselves in each other's eyes and it was two years ago all over again where they had been madly in love. And then, her eyes became chilly and cool as she wrenched herself out of his hands, even though a faint, pink hue could be seen on her cheeks.

"Tou – Kamijou-san," she corrected herself, as if determined to put some distance between them by using his name in a more formal manner. "What are you doing here?" it was phrased like an accusation.

"I'm going to enroll here, why else?" Touma responded, his eyes taking in her appearance appreciatively. She had bloomed over the course of three years, her body becoming more lithe and curvy and she had definitely become even more beautiful. Dressed in a brown frilly blouse jacket and a white shirt underneath with a blue skirt to match, Mikoto actually seemed so much more… womanly. And that was saying something.

Mikoto blinked. "You got into NUAC?" her disbelief was painfully obvious.

"Yes, I did," Touma replied almost smugly. Sure, he wasn't exactly very smart academically but damn if he hadn't studied his ass off to get into Med School. "And you?"

Mikoto's cheeks coloured slightly, "I study here too," she finally replied grudgingly.

"YOU?" It was Touma's turn to sound derisive, "You'd sooner kill your patients than save them," he said without thinking.

A thunderbolt was his reply, the lightning flaring with such intensity that it scorched the walls and tore through the cement like paper. Touma's right arm came up and the current fizzled harmlessly as it was drawn to his right arm, his gaze apologetic. "Fine, I went overboard," he admitted heavily, "Look," he reached out, almost flinching as she backed away from him with hurt in her eyes. "Mikoto, we need to talk." he finally got out, wanting desperately to talk to her.

"Why should we?" she said bitterly, "You did enough talking with that woman in your bed."

"I told you it wasn't what you thought it was," Touma growled, "Why can't you believe me?"

"You were buck naked, with your arms around that woman and you say it wasn't what it seemed? Pray tell, Kamijou Touma, what does it mean?" Mikoto snapped violently, her eyes glistening with unshed tears and Touma's heart ached as he itched to take her into his arms and soothe the pain.

"I was drunk, I didn't know what I was doing," Touma whispered, "heck, I thought she was you! We didn't do anything, I swear!" Not to mention the fact he hadn't known that his soft-drink had been laced with alcohol and that he could barely remember anything save the fact that he knew he hadn't done anything to betray Mikoto. Still, the scene had been incriminating. He didn't fault Mikoto for being angry but –

"You can say whatever you want now," Mikoto muttered, her eyes showing that she did not believe a word he had just said, "I thought I had seen the last of you when I left Academy City and to run into you when I come back…" Touma could feel his heart start to break as her voice broke.

"Mikoto, wait I –"

"Don't touch me!"

Touma froze, his eyes wide as she backed away from him with what seemed like fear and disgust and he recoiled, a cold feeling clamping over his heart as her damning words rang in his head like a mantra. Numbly, sullenly, he lowered his hand and head, barely hearing the sound of her pattering feet as she fled. He didn't have the strength left to chase her now. Her look of disgust and fear was burned into his mind forever.

_*** XXX ***_

'Damn him' Mikoto thought resentfully, her heart aching as she rounded the corner and stopped, slumping against the wall as she tried desperately to contain her roiling emotions. She thought she had gotten over him but she had been wrong. Just simply seeing him again had opened the stopper she had placed on her emotions, causing them to flood out uncontrollably. Her hands were burning. She could still feel the warmth of his hands on hers, the feel of his eyes on hers. Just being close to him… she felt as though she could forgive him for anything because she… still loved him, didn't she?

She let out a raucous laughter, running a hand through her chestnut coloured hair as she trembled violently. What a fool she was. Thinking that she had gotten over him when in fact, she had run away and let time suppress the pain instead. Biting her lip, she slowly reached up with her right hand to touch the small, silver and green pendant he had given to her a week before that incident happened. She should have known, after all. A rueful smile graced her face. She couldn't even bear to throw it away despite her best efforts to.

He had grown into a fine man. He was slightly taller, his muscles well toned and firm, his shoulders broad and brimming with confidence. His spiky hair was now long enough to cover his eyes in an unbearably seductive way and the scars on his person only added to his appeal to her.

Just look at her. She was a complete wreck thanks to him. Shoving the pendant back into the shirt, she wiped her face fervidly, noting that she had inadvertently shed a tear. She had been fearful and disgusted. She feared the fact the being close to him had made her cold heart beat again with blazing heat and intensity. And she was disgusted at herself for being so weak again.

The hurt in his eyes made her heart pound painfully. She so desperately wanted to take that pain away just like she had joined in the fray to fight against the magicians and the General Superintendent in order to protect him, to make sure he would never leave her side again. She shook her head.

She couldn't allow herself to be soft again.

She had painstakingly put her broken heart back together while she was away. She didn't know if she could bear having it shattered again.

_*** XXX ***_

The orientation camp had passed by in a blur. Touma could barely remember the specifics. All he knew was that he had introduced himself and gave some basic details before sitting out for most of the ice-breaker games. Quietly, he reflected briefly on how things had changed over the years. After the death of the General Superintendent or the greatest Magician, Aleister Crowley, life had changed in Academy City in more ways than one.

The leadership had been completely replaced and the leak of the 'Parameter List' to the teaching faculty of Academy City had been a huge blow to the city. There had been talks about shutting down the city and letting the Espers go back to their homes but they eventually vetoed that idea. To the outside world, Espers were not just precious research materials, they were lab specimens that were fair game to the thus far unsuccessful foreign countries that were researching ways to produce Espers. In short, Espers would be treated no better than lab animals and the new administration had been violently against that idea.

Perhaps it was telling in the way the talks had taken but the fact that they had prioritized the safety and needs of the Espers showed the change in mindset. To them, the Espers were no longer just research to be used to achieve SYSTEM. To them, Espers were students who required care and nurturing to blossom in their own way. For that, he was thankful that Heaven Canceller had finally decided to take on an advisor role to the current General Superintendent and had reformed many of the practices that had ostracized the lower level Espers, the powerless and the High Level Espers.

It was based on this that he was able to get in the NUAC based purely on result and merit rather than a thorough scrutinizing of his results and level. The bridge between the weak and the strong had been narrowed and more ways were being used to break it down entirely. Still, the general populace of Academy City remained blissfully unaware that a single file had been used to decide their fate for so long.

Perhaps it was for the best. Who knows what anarchy would have been achieved if such a sensitive piece of information had been divulged? The only thing that had not been resolved was the Dark Side of Academy City. Still, Touma didn't think there would be too many problems when Judgment was breathing down on their necks with enough ferocity to make any reckless researcher think twice.

After all, Accelerator himself was now a part of Judgment.

Touma had an inkling why he had joined, it was probably related to the young Last Order who had joined Judgment herself in order to become a hero like her… 'Tou-san'. It was kinda funny thinking of Accelerator as a father but well, there you have it. Still, the albino seemed to complain as much as the criminals he had thrown in jail, which were practically in the thousands and his very name had reduced the crime rate in Academy City astronomically.

Yomikawa Aiho was probably grinning herself to death in her office.

There had been other things, of course. He had gone his separate ways from the magic side after the devastating confrontation that had ended everything and settled back into his regular life without preamble. It was strange but he was probably more famous in the magic side than he could ever be in the Science side. To the Magic side, Touma had earned himself a fearsome reputation and few would actually dare to cross his path now that he had 'awakened'. Touma glanced down at both his arms in reflex, grimacing slightly as he remembered the jarring pain that had –

Never mind.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Touma rubbed his face with both hands wearily. Index had gone back to England, where he was sure she was doing fine now. They still wrote to one another but their correspondence was brief at best. Well, there you have it. He was a former 'hero' and right now, he was just an ordinary guy who needed to get his degree, hopefully a PhD and then a stable job as a doctor like Heaven Canceller.

And then, there was the issue of Misaka Mikoto.

Touma's lips thinned and he groaned. Why did he have to fall in love with such a troublesome woman? And why did that kind of thing have to happen? Sure, he had been lucky when she had stumbled upon them, since he had more or less sobered the moment he discovered that the warm body in his arms wasn't Mikoto but she hadn't even bothered to listen to him before she fled. The next thing he knew, she was gone from Academy City.

Until now.

Damn it, when a Kamijou falls in love, he falls hard.

As the murmurs of the excited students finally pierced his thoughts, Touma looked up, his face resigned to his fate.

He was going to get her back.

Misfortune be damned.

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><p><em><strong>AN: I think I made them a little emotional but what the heck. If this work ever takes off, I'll put a lot more effort into it than just about 500 words a day. For now, it'll be a little pet peeve of mine. Older characters will be older characters. Hormones galore! **_

_**Now, back to serious typing. *Whistles***_

_**If you want to see this continued, just leave it in the review. Love or hate it, it's up to you.**_

_**Regards,**_

_**Stormwolfex**_


	2. Sacrifice

_**Author's Notes: Oh my, this was better received than I thought. Oh well, more exposition and some other random stuff.**_

_**The first few chapters will probably be rather short, I just typed this when I was stuck on my writing and hey presto, I actually came up with something. It's not the best thing I could have written but… well.**_

_**Enjoy. ^^**_

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><p>"Misaka is late! Last Order is going to be late for school as she laments the fact that Tou-san did not wake her up!" Last Order wailed as she finally opened her eyes to see the alarm clock display 8am, which was only half an hour away from school.<p>

"Shut up brat!" Accelerator snarled in response, an apron tied neatly around his body as he busied himself with the kitchen, "You should have set your alarm clock yourself instead of waiting for me to do everything for you!" he tossed the plate to one side and it landed neatly on the table with it's contents intact, scrambled eggs and bacon quivering slightly from the vibrations. "Oi, Yomikawa! Do I have to wake you up? You've been letting me do the fucking house chores for over a week you damn hag!"

"I got it~" Yomikawa Aiho called out as she stepped out of the bedroom in a green jersey, rubbing her eyes wearily as she eyed the plates of food hungrily, "And, you know… You're a much better cook than me." She finished as she plopped down on the chair.

"Wah! Tou-san is biased, Misaka wails as Misaka stomps her foot angrily!" Last Order pouted.

"Oh, just can it," Accelerator's voice softened slightly, "I'll give you extra, so hurry up and get ready for your first day at school, damn it."

"Ah! That's right! Misaka jumps for the restroom as Misaka panics over what is to be a her first outing to such a dangerous –"

"Just hurry up already!" Accelerators snapped and the young girl bolted.

"Tch, aren't you noisy this morning?"

"Which brings me back to the topic I've been pestering you about for the last three months," Accelerator growled, "What… is SHE still doing here?" he pointed a finger violently at Musujime Awaki, who had just come out of the guestroom with a bedraggled look, her vermillion hair falling down in tresses past her shoulders as she swelled indignantly in anger as Aiho grunted.

"Well, she hasn't found a place yet," Aiho finally said.

"That's stupid!" Accelerator pointed out, "Heck, she could flash her boobs and any guy on the street would be tripping over to take her in."

"Oi, don't talk about me like I'm not here, you son of bitch!" Awaki hissed as she crossed her arms over her chest almost protectively, "Besides, don't YOU count as a guy?"

"Hah, please," Accelerator sneered, "I'd sooner get together with Misaka Mikoto or that bitch Kazakiri than with a hag like you."

"What was that, you bastard!" Awaki bristled and the two glared at each other, their anger palpable.

"You know, a couple like you two should stop fighting –"

"WE'RE NOT A COUPLE YOU BITCH!"

"…" Aiho shook her head, "Well, if that makes you feel any better, I guess I'll pretend that you two aren't together…"

"WE AREN'T!"

"And politely ask you two to stop bickering," Aiho finished as she cracked her knuckles threateningly.

"Tch," Accelerator relented as she turned back to the pan of pancakes he was cooking, "Fine. Just shut up and eat your damn breakfast," he muttered as Awaki stuck her tongue out at him while his back was turned, taking a seat and grabbing one of the toasts on the table hungrily.

"This is pretty good. Did you buy this, Yomikawa-san?" Awaki asked curiously as she moaned at the melting taste in her mouth that felt so deliciously sweet and syrupy. This jam was something else entirely.

"Nope, Accelerator made it," Aiho said, hiding a grin as Awaki dropped the toast like she was burnt, flushing furiously as Accelerator turned to smirk at her victoriously.

"I'm sorry but did you enjoy that just a little too much?" Accelerator clucked his tongue in an almost disapproving manner, "How dishonest you are." He laughed as she eyed the toast almost balefully before finally deciding to vent her frustrations by glaring at him venomously.

"Bite me," she shot back resentfully as she finally gave in and picked up the toast again. And bit down on the jam laden toast while trying to hold back her obvious pleasure at how good it was.

"Where do you want me to?" Accelerator shot back as their gazes locked heatedly.

"Um, if you want to flirt, there's something called a room," Aiho broke in dryly.

"…"

They broke eye contact just in time for Last Order to rush out of the restroom, her hair tousled and wet as she tossed the bag over the chair and sniffed at the food appreciatively. "Ittadakimasu!" she said cheerfully as she began to wolf down the food like a ravenous animal, her eyes fixed on the clock. "Wah, Tou-san's cooking has gotten even better, Misaka compliments as Misaka tries to talk while eating."

"Don't choke brat," Accelerator warned as he turned, walking towards them as he undid his apron and tossed it behind him nonchalantly. "If you need to get to school in a hurry, I can always send you there."

"Ah, but Misaka wants to have the feeling of running to school, reveals Misaka as she finishes her eggs and bacon," Last Order got out as she licked her lips and sighed in satisfaction, "Ah! Misaka is done as Misaka is grabs her bag and makes for the door –"

"Oi, come over here," Accelerator crooked his finger at Last Order and the young girl blinked as she walked over. "You didn't comb your hair," he muttered as he took a comb out of his pocket and, to the Aiho' and Awaki's amazement, began to comb Last Order's hair gently.

"Wow." Awaki finally said.

"Wow." Aiho repeated.

"Ah! Tou-san is combing Misaka's hair as Misaka smiles broadly in happiness and resists the urge to hug him." Last Order preened.

"Humph. Don't get me wrong, brat. I don't want you to go there all untidy and make people think you're an idiot," Accelerator grunted, finally done with her hair as he fished out a hairclip from his pocket and attached it onto her hair for her. "There. Much better. Now go and don't go getting yourself into any trouble. You're still a Judgment trainee, understand?" he rapped her head lightly.

"Yes! Misaka says as Misaka grabs her bag and prepares to –" Last Order planted a kiss by Accelerator's cheeks and the albino went pink as she grinned widely and ran for it, "See you later, Tou-san!"

"… I really should kill WOSRT for that. Tou-san indeed. Too bad she's in fucking America hunting down Kihara," Accelerator grumbled as he grabbed a plate. Noticing the deafening silence, he looked up and scowled. "What are you two looking at?" he demanded.

"Nothing," Aiho and Awaki said in unison.

"Nothing at all."

_*** XXX ***_

"You've changed," Awaki said as Aiho left for work, plopping down by the sofa as she watched Accelerator sweep the floor with an almost bemused expression.

"… What the hell are you talking about, exactly?" Accelerator responded without sparing her a glance.

"You're… domesticated, I'd say?" Awaki remarked thoughtfully. She had mostly teleported out every morning for her activities and was usually never here unless she needed to sleep. Even then, she and Accelerator hardly interacted and it was only today where she had been intrigued enough to stay.

"Lady, I'll show you how 'domesticated' I can be by sending you out of here," Accelerator growled.

"Meh, whatever. You're in Judgment, you can't just evict me," Awaki pointed out, "I pay my rent and I don't bother anyone."

"Right."

"Except you, of course. You ARE a bastard, after all," Awaki added.

"Can't you just go and find Eztali or something? Heck, why the fuck would you want to live under the same roof as me?" Accelerator grouched, "Did that final battle knock your wits loose or something?"

"Hah! I'm not staying here because I want to, Accelerator. I have no where else to go."

"Bullshit."

"Suit yourself, asshole" Awaki countered and they both fell silent.

Finally done with the chores, Accelerator flexed his neck wearily and opened the cupboard beside him to take out his cane.

"You know, I've been wondering," Awaki suddenly said, eyeing his cane quizzically, "Technically, you don't need to use the cane and choker anymore. So, why do you still wear and use them?"

"… Are you trying to piss me off?" Accelerator snarled.

Awaki shrugged, "No shit, Sherlock. Can't a lady be curious?"

Accelerator contemplated for a second, before finally turning away, his cane tapping against the ground sullenly as he made for his room. "I use it because I want to. I still owe them something, after all. These things remind me of those." He said heavily as he shut the door.

"…" Awaki pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Hm, so he is sentimental, after all, huh? What a big surprise indeed," she said to herself as she stretched languidly, before getting to her feet and teleporting away from the apartment. She sighed. She used to think of Accelerator as a monster. Now? She wasn't so sure.

Screw that, she had more important things to attend to. She had cases to investigate for HER, after all.

_*** XXX ***_

Accelerator glanced at himself in the mirror as he changed into something more formal for his Judgment duties. He was slightly taller than last time and he had filled out rather generously, having taken a gruelling training session from the resident Spartan to toughen his body and take up some self-defence courses to actually learn how to fight unarmed. Of course, the process had been hellish but it definitely paid off.

Still, he had to join Judgment as a prerequisite before Aiho would train him at all but he had been dead set on leaving after he was done. Over time though, he had gotten used to having something to do and throwing criminals in jail made for good sport. So he had stayed on. Of course, the news that he had joined a peacekeeping organization had spread like wildfire and crime rates had never been lower.

He didn't know whether to laugh at the irony of a villain discouraging crime or curse that he was stuck doing useless paperwork. Ah, but well. He wouldn't be considered a fucking villain anymore, anyway. Grimacing at the scars of war that now enshrined his body, Accelerator grabbed a shirt and buttoned it up, deciding to eschew the tie since the weather was getting warmer. His eyes flickered to the cane and his eyes thinned.

There had been many sacrifices during the war with Aleister and the one who probably got hurt the most was probably that hero, Kamijou Touma. While Academy City had been the battlefield, no one knew of the truth behind the destruction of the windowless building and the sudden change in leadership and style. No one, save a few. The fact that the masses did not know about the terrible tragedies was a cruel ignorance.

But sometimes, ignorance is bliss. Or so they say.

The most damning sacrifice had been the SISTERS. Aleister had terminated them the moment Aiwass decided that Aleister could no longer be observed as an interesting entity. In order to stop the only threat to Aleister's ascension, he had taken control of Last Order and within a space of seconds, over 9000 clones perished and Aiwass vanished, no longer able to sustain himself. Just like that, Aleister had erased the lives of so many SISTERS.

Suffice to say, the hero had been devastated by his lack of ability to save them.

Only one had survived.

Misaka 10032, who had been the one with the most individuality. That had saved her since she had deviated from the hivemind that was the Radio Noise network and had narrowly escaped the self-termination order ingrained in her genetics. Misaka WORST had never really been part of the network while Last Order had been protected by him. No, it was more accurate to say that there were three clones of Misaka Mikoto left.

But for the rest of the 9000 odd clones, Accelerator mourned for them. They had lived in their own way and had grasped life with their own hands. They weren't lab specimens like he had originally thought back in the heyday as a villain. No, they were human. They had struggled for the right to be their own person but that choice had been taken from them by that bastard.

And all he could do to honour their memory was to use this cane and choker as a reminder.

That the lives he had despised ended up being the ones to sustain his own.

This was the only thing he could do in their memory.

His phone buzzed. Shaken out of his reverie, Accelerator grabbed his phone, his lips thinning as he saw the number on reflected on the screen. "Yeah," he answered, fixing the Judgment Armband onto his long sleeve as he did so.

"We've got an issue, Accelerator. I need you to come down to the Belkan Medical Institute." The voice over the phone said.

"Got it." Accelerator shut the phone and went for his window. If Kumokawa Seria was calling him personally, then he had to be there as fast as possible. Flinging it open, Accelerator propped his leg on the pane and leapt, the vectors beneath his feet adjusting themselves and propelling him forward straight towards his destination.

_*** XXX ***_

"This had better be important," Accelerator greeted Kumokawa Seria with a brief nod as he entered the medical facility, his nose wrinkling in distaste at the amount of researchers in the area. He still disliked them despite the fact that most of them had gone legit. Most, anyway. Seria was the current advisor to the vice superintendent of Academy City, having graduated from school with honours and basically whizzing through her degrees with absurd ease. Long black hair cascaded down in her back and she was dressed in a formal blouse and long skirt, giving her a rather professional look.

"Oh, it is," Seria said tersely, looking rather annoyed as she ordered an intern to pass certain documents to another researcher, "Did you see it?"

"That fucking big hole in the wall? Of course I did, who would miss something so obvious?" Accelerator responded, eyeing the destruction with a practiced gaze, "It was blown in from the outside. The wall was almost completely vaporized by whatever hit it."

"Correct. Security cameras show that it was an automated Power Suit, but it's not like anything we have in our military."

"What the fuck would an automated Power Suit want with a medical centre?" Accelerator asked curiously, his gaze suspicious.

"Take a look yourself," Seria said as she handed him the file she was holding.

Flipping the file open, Accelerator's grip tightened on the folder as he felt the world fucking screech to a halt.

There, emblazoned in fucking BOLD on the first page were three words

[**PROJECT: RADIO NOISE]**

"Fuck."

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><p><em><strong>AN: I don't think many of you were expecting that but I digress. Yes, Accelerator is the focus for this chapter plus more exposition, like I said. More exciting stuff should be coming up but I'm leaving it to you readers to say what you want to see, what you hope might happen and I'll just take a look and incorporate some suggestions in when time permits. I don't think anything exciting will happen soon, since I'll more or less focus on the characters before setting the plot in motion. **_

_**By the way, I HAVEN'T decided on an ACTUAL plot yet. Opps. What a strange Plot Bunny.**_

_**Back to serious typing!**_

_**Regards,**_

_**Stormwolfex**_


	3. Attack

_**Author's Notes: Ah, the 3**__**rd**__** chapter. How surprising. In any case, 'Of Science and Magics' is currently undergoing some erm… author research so there will be delays while I sort out where I want to go with that story. For this one, being a story without a driving plot (Yet, though I have come up with a semblance of it), I will be updated with random characters as focus!**_

_**Not.**_

_**It's actually up to you guys. This story shall be based on reader's hopes, wishes and suggestions. Not all ideas will be used but I'll credit you for them.**_

_**So, you requested Shiage. You got him.**_

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><p>Skill-Out. Up till a year ago, that name was associated with a group of thugs and ruffians, the lowest of the low in Academy City. Comprised of Level 0's, the group sought solidarity through numbers and the gathering of people who were without protection to form a tight-knit group. Thugs and lowlifes they may be but they looked out for one another and protected one another.<p>

Now, though, Skill-Out had changed. In fact, Skill-Out had become an organisation directly affiliated with Judgment and Anti-Skill. It was all under wraps, of course. The parents of students would never approve of such a vigilante group being part of the peacekeeping force of Academy City. Yes, Skill-Out still took the heat of many of the crimes committed in Academy City but they were far from the old group they used to be.

And Kurozuma Wataru was a heck of a leader.

That's what Hamazura Shiage could attest to. Sighing, the young man took a seat by his wife, Takitsubo Rikou, in his office. His unruly yellow hair had been combed down, his casual clothes eschewed for the formal Anti-Skill captain uniform forced onto him by a certain Spartan Yomikawa Aiho. All in all, Shiage would have passed for a teacher if he ever decided to step into a school.

Rikou had become a teacher. It was kind of odd for her to be one but she liked children. And yes, he liked children too. The results were not out yet. Still, the former Esper enjoyed her work immensely, often going down to visit child error facilities to encourage them to do better and live their lives to the fullest. She had come full circle from the introverted person that she had used to be and Shiage had been very thankful, since that bastard Aleister had overloaded by capacity and had –

Tch.

Rubbing his forehead wearily, he let Rikou rest her head on his shoulder as he looked over some documents. ITEM had been disbanded officially. It couldn't be helped. They had all gone their separate ways and had separate goals to accomplish in order to clean up the mess that Aleister Crowley and Bardway had inflicted upon the world. Still, at least Kamijou Touma had been able to convince the Cabal leader not to go crazy with the knowledge she had learned. But he worried, no less. That's why, on paper, they were disbanded. In reality, however…

While he had not wanted to join Anti-Skill, he could frankly care less about getting an ability with the new Power Development Program. This left him jobless, with no way to support Rikou. And Aiho had taken full advantage of it. That woman…

Speaking of women and ITEM…

Kinuhata Saiai, his best friend, had left with Misaka WORST to hunt down the researchers that had fled from Academy City when the news of reformation reached their ears. In order to avoid more tears and the tragedies that arose from their cruel experiments, the two of them had formed a team with various Espers and travelled the globe. From what he had heard, they were under the direct supervision of Kumokawa Seria and not only hunted down researchers, they made sure that all information leaks had been silenced. He didn't exactly approve but when the news of a dissected Gemstone had reached their ears, he couldn't very well protest.

Mugino Shizuri had… well…

"Oi, Hamazura!"

Become his superior. How that worked he had no idea either. "Damn the lady and her money," he lamented as Rikou smiled winsomely up at him.

"You seemed to enjoy the three of us last –"

Shiage covered her mouth before she could say anything more blush-inducing. Not that it mattered, anyway. His face was now redder than an apple. "Rikou!" he hissed, his face burning, "We're in my office."

"But –"

"Oi, stop cuddling! We can do that later if you want," Shizuri snapped as she opened the door and eyed the two of them critically, "We've got an issue, Captain Shiage."

"Ok, I'll be right there, Commander," he nodded at Rikou and the black haired woman let go of his arm with a pout as Shiage flexed his muscles tiredly. "Looks like this is important," he whispered, noting Shizuri's serious expression. Rikou nodded and kissed him gently on the cheeks as he left.

"So, what is it?" he grunted as he entered Shizuri's office.

"We've had a break-in at the Belkan Medical Institute."

"Isn't that the place that specializes in the study of DNA in relation to Esper powers and the use of Esper related abilities for Medical Sciences?" Shiage asked quizzically as he went through whatever information he had memorized from the data banks over in his mind.

"That's right. Accelerator has taken the case and has requested for us to back him up." Shizuri informed him as she grabbed a file and tossed it across the table and into his hands.

"Accelerator?" Shiage blinked, "Is there something I should know about this?"

Shizuri rubbed the temples of her head in the beginnings of a headache, "Stop yakking and read the damn file." Shiage rolled his eyes and opened the file to read. He stiffened abruptly, his back straightening and his eyes sharpening as he poured over the document in detail.

"The fuck is this? I thought the entire project was scrapped and destroyed?" Shiage demanded as he looked up in shock.

"We thought wrong. Apparently, Misaka Mikoto's DNA map was stored in this facility under the guise of medical tools. Not only that but all documented information on Project Radio Noise has been completely erased from the system," Shizuri's nose wrinkled in disgust, "It's probable that the perpetrator knows about the secondary function of Radio Noise."

"The AIM network? You don't think?" Shiage gnashed his teeth. Oh great, after 2 years. Why now of all times when things had already begun to quieten down?

"Aiwass. Or maybe they are trying to create another AIM based entity like Kazakiri. I don't know," Shizuri looked troubled, "But I do know this. There's only one person in the world who would have that kind of knowledge."

"?"

Shizuri's lips thinned as she leaned back, her expression grim. "Kihara Gensei."

"Him again, huh? Every bad experiment that we looked into has Kihara's name all over it. I don't understand why we can't just arrest him," Shiage said in frustration.

"Blame it on politics and the fact that the old geezer is very good at hiding his traces," Shizuri spat, "If it were me, I would have vaporized him a long time ago. But unfortunately…" she shrugged, releasing a heavy sigh as she leaned back on her chair. Yes, Mugino Shizuri, 4th ranked Level 5 of Academy City had mellowed out greatly. She was a leading authority in the capture of unethical researchers and the use of Espers as mere guinea pigs for the advancement to SYSTEM. Not only that but her presence on the peacekeeping force of Anti-Skill had greatly bolstered their independent actions, allowing them greater freedom and authority to act on cases.

This meant that Anti-Skill was no longer held back firmly by the upper echelons of Academy City.

"Mugino-oneechan!" a small voice called out and Fremea Seivelun Mugino ran into the room with a wide smile on her face. Standing outside the door was Hattori Hanzou, a friend of his who had considered joining Anti-Skill for Yomikawa Aiho but decided to stay in Skill-Out to help Kurozuma Wataru manage his affairs.

"Hey!" Shizuri's face broke out into a warm smile as she hugged the young girl, who was the spitting image of Frenda Seivelun, their dead member from ITEM. Shizuri had killed her personally and that guilt had stayed with her ever since. To her, Fremea was like a precious younger sister and so, when the whole incident was wrapped, she had adopted Fremea into her family. "How was your first day of school?"

Shiage would have remarked on the irony of it but he was too busy enjoying the fact that Shizuri actually looked genuinely happy. Even in the old days of ITEM, she just seemed to stick out, unable to connect fully with them. Until Fremea, that is. The young girl had opened her heart and forgave the heinous act she had committed with a warm smile and a affectionate pat.

"Well, it was essentially very dull," Fremea said happily as she sat down on Shizuri's lap, "But the lessons were all things I've learnt already, nya~"

Smiling to himself, Shiage decided to excuse himself for now, grabbing the document and away from his chair as he gestured for Hanzou to follow him.

"Man," Hanzou said as he watched the two girls interact like real sisters, "I have to say that Meltdowner sure has changed."

"We all have," Shiage reflected grimly, before opening the file again. "Hey, Hattori, you know all those illegal powersuits built underground?" he asked as he saw the photo of the Power Suit that had broke into the medical facility.

"Yeah?"

"Help me check if there was any stolen or marketed off this week. Anti-Skill may not be able to dig out information on smuggled goods easily but I think you guys can, right?"

Hanzou rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Actually, I don't need to dig up any. Wataru said about the same thing. Some parts for a prototype power suit was stolen just recently while we were doing cleanup operations on those smugglers."

Shiage's eyes narrowed, "What kind of parts are we talking about here?"

"Some way advanced stuff man," Hanzou muttered, "I hear it was a bunch of biocybernetic parts and some other parts relating to the function of AIM or something like that. I'm not too good with all these science stuff man. I do know some heavy weaponry were stolen too."

"Is that so," Shiage bit his lip thoughtfully. "You know what?" he glanced at his watch, "Tell Wataru I'll meet up with him later. I'll need to take a look at what went missing. This is just between him and me, got it? No higher authority involved."

"Whatever you say man, is Aiho around?" Hanzou asked hopefully.

"You still haven't gotten over your crush yet? You might as well join Anti-Skill if you're so desperate," Shiage pointed out dryly.

"And restrict my freedom? No way man!" Hanzou snorted.

"Whatever, just –" Shiage blinked as he looked up, seeing no one beside him. He clucked his tongue in disgust. "Fucking ninja."

_*** XXX ***_

Meanwhile, deep in America, Kinuahta Saiai was observing the movements of the facility built secretly within the Grand Canyon. Officially a National Park, a facility there should have been illegal. Should have been but there it was. A Power Development facility to experiment on the creation of Espers. While Academy City had been very successful in that regard, the other countries have been… less than successful.

Academy City had changed the power balance of the world simply by existing. Those former superpowers didn't exactly take too kindly that.

Her comnlink buzzed and Saiai patched her contact in.

"This is Saiai," she said, her binoculars doing one last final sweep. 30 armed guards, possibly heavy weapons once she got past the gates. Her partner would be handling the big guns though. All she needed was the signal.

"I've got confirmation on the transaction. Seria was right on the money," Misaka WORST snickered over the line, "We'll bring in this Amercian agent called Alan McKnight since he's the one that has been handling the correspondences. Everyone else is fairgame."

"I thought your Tou-san super forbade you to kill people?" Saiai remarked dryly.

"Oh, he did. Never said anything about dismembering them and leaving them to die, right?" Worst replied cheerfully as she cut the line. Saiai rolled her eyes.

"Superzealous woman," she said aloud as she mentally counted to three.

As if on cue, the facility erupted in a massive explosion.

_*** XXX ***_

Mitchell was a man who liked his job. Sure, he stood guard in the freaking Grand Canyon but the job paid well and it was essentially low-risk for the amount cash rolling in. He didn't care that there were potentially inhumane experiments going on since they brought in live specimens all the time and shipped out corpses nearly all the time. Screw that, he was a worker, not a damn saint. Who cares what happens? It wasn't like anyone could just sneak in and –

*BOOM*

"What the fuck?" was his response as the left side of the facility suddenly erupted in a massive explosion, metallic parts flying everywhere as he recognized the area that was blown up. It was their armoured vehicles. Blinking, he drew his rifle and cocked it, taking wary steps forward as he heard a tapping sound. Around him, whoever hadn't been caught in the explosion were also inching closer to the explosion site.

"Hello, handsome."

"!" Mitchell spun, only to see a flash of purple energy zip past his eyes and he knew nothing else as he was knocked unconscious with a hard blow to the head.

"Ok, not so handsome," Worst said with a grin as she flexed her wrist, her gaze mildly amused as the panicked cries of the guards reached her ears. "Well, some things never change," she drawled as they levelled their weapons at her and fired. Purple energy flared, her Powered Suit crackling to life in a split second as she vanished, reappearing behind the guards in a flash of light. A sickening crack was heard as Worst slammed their heads together with bone-shattering force, blood erupting all over her palms as she made an annoyed sound deep within her throat.

"Ah, forgot to hold back again," she muttered as her eye-scanner flashed and she jumped, leaping high over the guard that had snuck up behind her and landing a powerful downward kick to his skull, knocking him out instantly. Flicking her hands, she ignored the streak of blood that she had spread all over the floor as the sound of machines being activated alerted her to new threats. The Powered Suit burst out of the burning hanger, its main gun swivelling down to face her.

"Hah. HiMAT (High Mobility Anti-Tank) Suit, huh?" she snorted as she raised her hand in response. It fired. A split second later, a blast of purple energy tore through the metallic armour of the suit, completely vaporizing the amour as the metal round exited the core of energy generator, causing a meltdown. And then, it exploded. "Idiot. You didn't even bother to calibrate the units you bought from Academy City," she remarked as she loaded another round into her palm from the suit and fired another round at yet another exiting Powered Suit, blowing it up again. "And you guys call yourself researchers, huh? Tsk, Misaka is disappointed. I guess this means Kihara Gensei isn't here." She winced a little. Firing two straight railgun shots still put a strain on the suit in order achieve an output higher than her Onee-sama's.

Her skin-tight powered suit, nicknamed Storm Panther by the Misaka clone, was a state-of-the-art prototype designed by brightest minds in Academy City and further fine-tuned by a woman named Kiyama Harumi to respond to minute changes in the AIM emitted by its user, allowing it to increase the overall output of the ability exhibited by the Esper commanding the suit. Not to mention the fact that it had incredible defence and the combat potential was insane. It actually allowed her to gain a massive increase in speed and strength by simply releasing a large amount of energy. The only downside was the strain it put on her body but she could care less about that.

Turning, Worst grinned widely as the twin gates flung backwards as Kinuhata Saiai sauntered in lazily, a mass of scattered bodies behind the unharmed Esper as she kicked away an empty canister, which had probably contained nitrogen. Still, the chocolate haired girl had been supplied with a Power Suit of her own by Seria, which was basically a modified Hard_Tapping plastic which reinforced Saiai's body, giving her a massive speed and strength boost. Additionally, like Worst's, it afforded her some defence in case her automatic self-defence armour failed to trigger and stored nitrogen for her to use.

"You're late," Worst remarked as Saiai shrugged.

"They were super stubborn. So I had no choice but to do a little cleanup." Saiai remarked nonchalantly, "So, our target is in the facility?"

"Oh yeah. With all the commotion, they'll probably be on the run," Worst licked her lips in excitement, "Shall we go? I do so love a good chase."

_*** XXX ***_

Alan McKnight cursed under his breath as pandemonium broke out. "They are coming," he muttered, turning to face the wizened old man that had convinced him to partake in this project, "You said that this location was completely secure! And that we would see results within days!" he roared, slamming his hand on the table angrily, "But not only has it been two weeks, you didn't even bother to supervise any of the experiments at all! Just what is your game, Kihara Gensei!"

Gensei's face turned to face his and Alan recoiled at the dangerous expression on the old man's face, "Now, now," he said in an old, grandfatherly voice that belied the darkness reflected in his eyes, "I said I'd bring results. I didn't say to whom."

"Don't screw with me, old man!" Alan barked, drawing his gun, "I can kill you right here and now!"

"Oh, is that right now?" Gensei chuckled, seemingly unbothered by the gun trembling in his face, the fear on Alan's body like a stench that refused to leave the air. "Ok, fine. Shoot me then. Go on."

"Why you!"

*CRACK*

A gunshot echoed throughout the now empty room. Empty, except for the two men. Alan fell over, an expression of pure shock and horror etched forever onto his face as Gensei hummed lightly, slowly walking towards the door. "I'll be leaving this to you, Therestina," he said as he left the room.

"Don't worry, grandfather," Therestina Kihara Lifeline replied as he disappeared into the darkness, her lips curling into a smile as she looked up at the rumbling ceiling, "I'll get the data we need. And you're going to help us, right? Fridge-kun?"

Behind her, shrouded in perpetual darkness, a single cybernetic eye flickered into existence, the red glow seemingly teeming with suppressed hatred.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Hm, that's it for the third chapter. I'll be updating this to keep my brain going and dump my random little plot bunnies here on occasion. Any issues or problems, along with suggestions for the direction should kindly be stated in the review. **_

_**Of random stuff for the win? **_

_**Till next time folks,**_

_**Stormwolfex**_


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